In The Valley Of Death (Chapter One)
by Kari the Queen of Light
Summary: When one of the DigiDestined is diagnosed with cancer, how will the other's react? R+R!


Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, Bandai, or whatever, ok?  
  
  
Author's Note: I HAVE to call Joe by his Japanese name, Jyou, cuz my sister's new boyfriend's named Joe, and the resemblance between the 02 Joe and my sisters' Joe is so uncanny it's scary.   
  
  
The Valley of Death: Part One (Yes, someone dies! I'm KILLING OFF A CHARACTER!)  
  
"But it's not possible!"  
"It is...yes it is, Sora...I wondered if it was genectic, because after Mom died....I never..."  
"Do the others know yet?" Sora asked apprehensively.  
"Of course not. I just found out myself. I can't bring myself to tell Yamato, it'll break his heart."  
"Mimi, you have to, sooner or later he'll find out."  
"But I can't!"  
"Why can't you?"  
"Sora, I've looked death in the eye before, but it was nothing like this, not at all. Back then, I knew we were all in this, together, but now...I still need to get used to the fact that my time is limited," Mimi sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head.  
"You KNOW we'll always be there for you."  
"I know, but I have to fight this alone."  
"And you said your time was limited? There's medical breakthroughs every day. It's not over yet."  
Mimi laughed. "You sound more determined then I do, but I've already given up. Nothing can change this, nothing can fix it. It's here to stay, and that's that."  
"No!" cried Sora, jumping up angrily. "You can't. It's not to late!"  
"Yes it is," said Mimi bitterly.   
"Well you have to tell the others, then! You say your time is limited? Then why aren't you living your life to the fullest extent possible? You're sitting here, when everything else is calling."  
"You're right!" she said, reaching over towards the phone.   
"Who're you calling?"  
"The others. You're right, they should know."  
  
"So what's wrong, that it was so urgent?" asked Tai, leaning back.  
"Well...there's something you all need to know," said Mimi, playing absently with a lock of her hair.  
"Well, what is it?" said Izzy. "There's something different about you. I don't know what it is, but you look like somethings totally wrong and that you're about to cry."  
"That's cause I am," she said, swallowing her tears. "You guys, I'm cancerous. I have a tumor." She didn't meet anyone's eyes and looked downward. "It's over."  
At first, time stood still and space had no meaning. Then, simutaneously, the room came to life as if the volume was turned back on.  
"Excuse me..." said Mimi, standing quite suddenly. She glanced around the room again, let a small sob escape her lips, and bolted from the room.  
"I just don't believe it," said Izzy slowly.   
"How can she have cancer?" cried Kari. "It's impossible...Mimi, the budding princess. The American model. No! It's not fair to her! She never did anything to deserve such a thing! She was the young one, full of life, giving us all support and strength! She never EVER....it's just not fair."  
This was still not registering with Matt. What Mimi said had no meaning, the commotion around him was pointless. He sat still as a stone, struggling to put it all together.   
"SHUT UP!" Matt bellowed quite irrationally. "Stop saying 'how can she' and 'I don't believe it', because she has what she has, and playing 'What If?' isn't going to change it. She wouldn't lie about something like this, so you better believe it. Get used to the fact that whatever time we have with her is precious." He stood up, wobbly, as if intoxicated, and slowly goes into the room where Mimi is.  
The rest went quiet. Matt's speech was a mirror of realization about the situation, and the exact words everyone was trying not to say.   
"Mimi?" Matt asked quietly, sitting next to her. Mimi didn't seem to hear him and stared off into space, seeming to be studying something that only she could see. "Mimi?" he asked again, touching her shoulder.  
She seemed to revive at the touch. "Matt..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper.   
"I just wanted to tell you....I'll be here for you....until the end, I promise...whatever it's worth."  
"It's worth a lot. It'd mean so much, just to...be with you."  
Matt swallowed hard. "I promise."  
"Thank you, so much...it's just...as soon as you get where you wanna be, it's gone."  
"I know how that feels," he said. "I have an idea. Why don't we take a trip? You and me and all the others. D'you think your father and brother would care if you went away?"  
"Care?" Mimi snorted. "I could drop dead right now, and they wouldn't notice...Daddy'll be to busy drinking, and my brother doesn't know I exist. Mom's death hit both of them hard."  
"Then it's set! We can go over to Europe! It'll be beautiful. Imagine, the Paris lights...and even if the others can't, just you and me, I promise."  
"No. You all have schooling and lives. If you guys do anything for me, the only thing I want you to do is to go out and do what I can, and live for me."  
"I can't do that," he said, struggling to keep his voice from cracking, "I'm not going to live for you. You will live for yourself, and you will come travelling. You'll do what you can, because no one can live for you."  
"Disgusting," said Mimi, smiling weakly. "Completely off balance..."  
"Hey," said Matt with a shrug, "what else are males for?"  
"Which is the exact point I've struggled to redeem since I was twelve..."  
"You've been trying to prove that males are disgusting pigs?" he said with an air of fake shock and disgust.  
Mimi laughed. "Not completely."  
"See? I can still make you laugh, even in times like these..." He flung his arms around her shoulders in a genial cuff. "So how'sa 'bout it? Gonna spend time with us?" He was about to say "Gonna spend what time that's left," but caught it right in time.  
Mimi smiled, but apprehension dawned in her eyes. "I wouldn't have it any other way."  
"Excellent."  
  
Back in the living room, the others were silent, as if they were stone statues. Kari and Sora were quiet, unmoving and unspeaking, their faces registering no emotion. Koushiro was lost deep in though, Jyou and our faithful, unemotional hero were looking upset and dazed.   
"I can't...this is....beyond....what I expected..." said Tai, his voice breaking.  
"When she said it was urgent, I thought she was going to say she was going back to New York. Or even...but not a death call," Jyou added sullenly.   
"An astounding proclamation," said Matt, semi sarcastic.  
They all jumped. "Matt, how can you joke at a time like this, when time is running ou--oh, Mimi!" cried Tai, noticing her, and not wanting to make it worse.   
"Great coverup."  
"At least she's back to almost normal," said Sora. "But, then again, she's never been completely normal."  
"Oh, thanks."  
Again, no one knew what to say. They didn't want to mention the morbid, or say anything stupid.  
"Ahum..."  
"You guys, I'm still the same person you knew yesterday. SAy anything, you still know me. Don't worry about seeming like idiots, cuz you've already acted like morons before, it's nothing new. I'm the same person," she reminded them.  
"Oh, we weren't thinking about that," lied Tai.  
"Speak for yourself," said Koushiro. "It's just that, this is a different kind of situation, and there's only so much words can do."  
"Spoken like a true Shakespearean," TK joked.  
They laughed, and with that, the dismal mood lifted.   
  
  
  
  
Yeah, I know that sucked, but it's going to be a trilogy...they're going to go to Europe and all...and then....yeah.  
  
  



End file.
